End Grain Wood Bamboo Cutting Board – Item of the Day
Special Notice – This my favorite utility cutting board. So much to love about it, especially the value at full price. But I have been price tracking it for 4 years, and it only started going on sale this summer, and it is currently 36% off. 43 bucks for a thick end grain bamboo board of this size is insanely cheap. Get one today. (sale price effective as of 8-5-24)
Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.
Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the End Grain Wood Bamboo Cutting Board by Fast Easy Bread Store. I’ll say out of the gate that an end grain thick cutting board is not something that tends to get screwed up. Hence you don’t have to be married to this brand, but it is the one I specifically own. According to my Amazon History I bought this item in May of 2018 and I still love it and use it almost daily. So just know you can trust this brand.
Before I dig into this item let me confess something. I have a “board addiction”, and I mean both cutting and serving boards. I have more than I need, and I know I will keep buying them. I just think they are beautiful. My latest one is olive wood and I got in on our vacation. Every time my wife calls it a cutting board, I am like, “no, never put a knife to that, it is a serving board”. I also own a ton of awesome cutting boards and other serving boards in many designs. I say this only due to what I will say next.
This board isn’t bad looking but it isn’t “beautiful” either. It is utilitarian, setting it next to some of my other boards is like putting a old pick up next to a Corvette or a cherry condition 68 Firebird. So why? Why does a guy with more boards than he needs use this thing the most when it comes to slicing, chopping, meat cutting, etc. Well why do you use that old pick up over say a sports car? Simply because for the task at hand it works better and you don’t give a damn it it gets another scratch on the paint.
That is how I feel about end grain bamboo boards like this. They are perfect for daily use, they require less maintenance then many hardwood boards and if you go with end grain they are not hard on a knife’s edge. That is important by the way, the reason many don’t like bamboo is, it is hard and hence hard on that knife edge, but this is only really true with cheap long grain boards.
There is more I love about this board. First is that juice grove all around the edge. I always grab it when grilling or cooking on the flat top. I bring meat in on it and I don’t end up with a juice trail on the floor and the dogs licking at my feet. Next it is heavy, I like heavy boards for working, they are stable and stable equals safe. It also has rubber feet and that creates a no slip board for even an even more stable work environment.
Next is just the way things cut on on a board like this, the word is perfectly. By being end grain the grain can give just a tiny bit as a knife is drawn across it. This give you great feel especially when doing fine slicing work with veg or like a Chiffonade with basil and other leaf herbs. Finally size, not only is it nice and heavy but with a working area of 16″L x 12″W it is about the largest size that isn’t just too big and space consuming on a counter top or stored away.
I just look at it this way you can spend hundreds on a cutting board, it can be a work of art and that is great if like me it is just one of your things. However if you want a great board that will last for decades with minimal maintenance this is the one for you.
So check out the End Grain Wood Bamboo Cutting Board by Fast Easy Bread Store if you don’t already have a good to cutting board that you really love. It is restaurant chef quality at a used pickup price, you just can’t go wrong with that.
* Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com
P.S. – I referred to maintenance a few times above so let me tell you what we do with ours which again is now over 5 years old with almost daily use and minimal maintenance.
Step One – Always wash soon after use. I know we all tend to some nights set dishes aside and do them the next day. Save for steal or cast iron pans, I am fine with that, but not your boards. I wash with a very tiny bit of detergent and a scrub daddy as soon as dinner is done and fully rinse well. It takes less then a minute to do and then I stand it up on end to let it dry. That is all for day to day use.
Step Two – All wood has oils in it, and this oil is part of what preserves it. To keep a board in top shape you should oil it say monthly. I absolutely do this with hard wood boards and tend to do so with my bamboo board as well, thing is, it isn’t as important.
Honestly if always washed after use and stood on end to dry, applying oil every 60 days is fine. And it is fast and easy to do. Just make sure it is fully dry from being washed, then coat it with some mineral oil, wipe it in good and let it sit, I use my fingers to apply it. If it sucks it all up in say an hour, give it a second coat. If it won’t take the first full coat, wipe the excess off with a cloth or paper towel and carry on. Keep adding coats until the final coat does not 100% absorb into the wood and a small amount is left to be wiped off. If you oil monthly one coat is usually enough.
Do this and these types of boards will likely belong to your kids some day. That is a heck of value at 70 bucks in this modern world where the quality of most things have gone to shit.
The End Grain Wood Bamboo Cutting Board is no longer available on Amazon. Is there another link to buy it or another recommendation?
I had a feeling it was an inventory dump. That thing never went on sale ever in 5 years then twice in about 30 days time. Strong signal that is coming.
I have been looking for an alternative but most seem to be junk. Sorry I can’t recommend something else as I have not found one worth mentioning. I will monitor inventory on this and see if it comes back. Sucks ass when this happens.
BABILONIA has a different version – two sizes. Seems like a similar product if this one dies out. Has a cool cutout for a small plate to be inserted to scrape cuttings directly on. Two sizes – 16×10 and 20×12. Might be worth a look.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCYX18FD/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?pd_rd_i=B0CCW4VF7C&pd_rd_w=i1Fbg&content-id=amzn1.sym.386c274b-4bfe-4421-9052-a1a56db557ab&pf_rd_p=386c274b-4bfe-4421-9052-a1a56db557ab&pf_rd_r=X8HBHZW820RMRN028XSQ&pd_rd_wg=wuo52&pd_rd_r=1cb01680-df6a-4669-b6fe-bb73d9b2d3b7&s=kitchen&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1